Moscow is reinforcing its military presence in the Mediterranean near Syria, Russian media reported Tuesday, as speculation grows that Damascus is planning a Russian-backed offensive on rebel-held Idlib province.
Moscow has accused rebels of planning to stage a chemical attack in the northwestern province that would 鈥減rovoke鈥� Western strikes on its ally Damascus.
Quoting anonymous sources, the Kommersant daily reported that Russia sent two warships and an additional anti-aircraft missile system to the Mediterranean in August.
Pro-Kremlin paper Izvestia said Russia currently has 10 warships and two submarines in Syrian waters, saying this amounted to Moscow鈥檚 biggest military presence there since it became involved in the conflict in 2015.
According to Izvestia, Russia plans to send 鈥渟everal more鈥� warships to Syria.
Russia鈥檚 deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov charged that the jihadist group Tahrir al-Sham 鈥渋s close to committing a very serious provocation in Idlib using chemical weapons鈥�.
At the weekend, Russia repeatedly accused Syrian militants of planning the attack in the rebel-held province.
It also accused British secret services of being 鈥渁ctively involved鈥� in the plot.
Moscow鈥檚 accusations came after US President Donald Trump鈥檚 national security adviser John Bolton said Washington will respond 鈥渧ery strongly鈥� if Syrian regime forces used chemical weapons to retake Idlib.
In April, the US, France and Britain launched joint missile strikes on Syrian targets in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma that left scores of people dead.
Russian stuck by its ally Syria and angrily insisted the Douma attack was staged by the White Helmets volunteer rescue service.
Russia, a long-time ally of Syria, launched a military intervention in 2015 to support the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a move that changed the course of the war.
Damascus still holds the southeastern tip of Idlib, a strategically important province adjacent to Latakia on the Mediterranean coast that is home to Assad鈥檚 clan.
More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria鈥檚 war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.聽 聽/vvp